In a recent ruling the US district court accepted the Amicus Curiae Brief signed by sixteen distinguished Americans in support of Jonathan Pollard's § 2255 motion to vacate his sentence. However, the court rejected a subsequent motion to add six more signatures to the brief.
An "amicus curiae" brief is a "friend of the court" brief. Amicus briefs are submitted to the court by organizations and distinguished individuals to support a case or issue that the court must decide. Amicus briefs can only be filed with the consent of the court.
The sixteen distinguished Americans whose names appear on the brief, which has now been formally included in the court record, are:
Anthony Amsterdam
Professor of Law
New York University
Robert Drinan
Professor of Law
Georgetown University
Monroe Freedman
Professor of Law
Hofstra University
Malvina Halberstam
Professor of Law
Benj. Cardozo School of Law
Laurence Katz
Professor of Law
University of Baltimore
Robert Lande
Professor of Law
University of Baltimore
Kenneth Lasson
Professor of Law
University of Baltimore
Hon. George N. Leighton
Retired Federal Judge
Professor of Law
John Marshall Law School
Charles Ogletree
Professor of Law
Harvard University
Charles E. Rice
Professor of Law
Notre Dame University
Richard Stone
Professor of Law
Columbia University
Michael Tigar
Professor of Law
American University
Aaron Twerski
Professor of Law
Brooklyn Law School
Stephen Wizner
Professor of Law
Yale University
Rev. Theodore Hesburgh
President Emeritus
Notre Dame University
Hon. Anthony D. Weiner
Member, U.S. Congress
The supplemental list of distinguished Americans, which was disallowed by the court, include Benjamin Hooks, Esq., the former head of the NAACP and Robert Abrams, Esq., the former Attorney General of New York.
The supplemental signatories sought to add their names to the list after the brief had already been submitted to the court with the original list of signatories. The court's order provided no explanation as to why the following illustrious Americans were not permitted to add their names to the brief:
Neil Cogan
Dean and Professor of Law
Whittier Law School
Samuel Dash
Professor of Law
Georgetown University
Howard Glickstein
Dean and Professor of Law
Touro College of Law
Benjamin Hooks, Esq.
Director Emeritus
National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
Robert Abrams, Esq.
Former Attorney General
State of New York
Hon. Edolphus Towns
Member, U.S. Congress
While Jusice4JP is disappointed that these latter individuals were not permitted to add their names, we are gratified that the amicus brief itself, together with the original list of signatories, has now been accepted and made part of the court record. That list includes a retired federal judge, a Member of Congress, and some of the pre-eminent legal scholars in the field of criminal law, each of whom, by signing the amicus brief, has endorsed the merits of Jonathan Pollard's legal position.